China · Chinese

Braised pork elbow

The seat record places braised pork elbow among the braised dishes, and the local-history account explicitly pairs it with steamed pork elbow as two options for the same place on the table. A whole bone-in elbow is first boiled to about eighty per cent done, its skin rubbed with honey or dark soy and fried until blistered and deep red, shaved into a round to fit the bowl and cut with deep, not-through “elephant-eye” blocks laid skin-down, then steamed hard with scallion, ginger, star anise and seasoned second stock until collapsing; the aromatics are picked out, the meat inverted, and the original liquor thickened to a flowing gloss and poured over. Public reference · home adaptation.

205 minutes · 6 servings · advanced

Braised pork elbow

Public reference · Home adaptation The local-history account writes braised and steamed pork elbow together inside one bracket — “braised pork elbow (or steamed pork elbow)” — the same position on the table with two routes. The same form recurs: kou rou (or braised pork), mixed braise (or shaoshijin), which shows the seat record was always adjustable and that no single table should be treated as the standard. The elbow divides into fore- and hind-cut: the fore-cut sits above the front knee under the belly meat, with thick skin, lean meat and plenty of gelatine; the hind-cut sits above the rear knee with the shoulder blade at its end. The cited entry treats a whole unboned hock as the best choice, plated as a mound, chestnut-red, collapsing and gelatinous. This version takes only the public technique and does not claim any jiudouwan-specific formula. **This entry previously cited several `newton.com.tw/wiki/<dish-name>` links (such as 燒白, 紅燒肘子, 燒什錦 and 夾沙肉). On checking, every one of them returned 404 — those pages do not exist on the encyclopedia; the links had been constructed by pattern. They have all been removed. The method here rests on the openable sources listed above. If a matching entry does exist for this dish, cite the page that actually exists rather than guessing a URL from the dish name.****The seat record names the dish but not the method**: the local-history account states that jiudouwan is built on steamed and braised dishes, and that beyond the three steamed ones it includes “braised pork elbow (or steamed pork elbow), kou rou (or braised pork), pork with bamboo shoots, mixed braise (or shaoshijin), re-cooked chicken and fish with chili-bean paste”, recording names and substitution relationships but no formulas. This version's method is taken from method one of the public encyclopedia entry for braised pork elbow (500 g elbow, 15 g soy, 10 g salt, one star anise, two scallion whites, two slices ginger, honey, wood ear, yulan slices, MSG, wet starch and second stock), and has no exclusive correspondence to jiudouwan. **The substitution relationship is stated in the culture note**: the account records braised and steamed pork elbow as explicit alternatives for one place on the table; this version takes braised, per the fixed menu, and makes no random swap. **Deep-frying is downgraded to pan-searing**: the entry's “fry in a wide oil wok until the skin blisters deep red” involves a naked-flame wok of hot oil and is risky at home, so this version uses a little oil to sear the skin to the same blistered deep red and marks it as a disclosed downgrade. Honey is optional; dark soy alone will do for colour. **Steaming time is downgraded and disclosed**: the original specifies 2.5 hours over high heat. A domestic steamer gets 150–180 minutes here, judged by a skewer sliding in without resistance and the meat coming off the bone. The upper bound is an editorial setting, untested. **Scoring is relaxed and disclosed**: the entry's “elephant-eye” blocks cut deep but not through the lean layer are hard work; this version relaxes to scoring the lean layer through the skin, deep but not through, with safe knife work taking priority. **Technique only, no therapeutic claims**: the entry includes accolade language (“named among the top ten dishes”) and tonic claims; neither is adopted. Contains soy (light and dark soy), wheat (cooking wine) and honey. The stock and spices may carry other allergens; check labels. Pork hock is high in fat and requires long steaming, so this is a rich dish — those monitoring blood sugar or lipids should eat it in moderation. Contains meat; not a vegetarian dish. 阿坝州地方志办公室：传统川菜“九斗碗”（发布 2013-08-09） — Menu source 1. It records jiudouwan as also called tianxi and san-zheng-jiukou-xi; the three steamed dishes as rice-flour pork, savory and sweet shaobai (jiasha rou); the braises as braised or steamed pork elbow, pork with bamboo shoots, mixed braise (shaoshijin), re-cooked chicken and fish with chili-bean paste; the cold dishes as braised pork elbow (or steamed pork elbow), pork with bamboo shoots, shaoshijin, re-cooked chicken and fish with chili-bean paste; the stir-fries as bamboo shoots fried in lard, gong bao diced pork and shredded pork with yellow chives; the stew as stewed tuotuosu pork; spinach and flash-fried cabbage as table fillers. It also records that a feast without the three steamed dishes is not a feast, that each bowl holds eight slices of pork, and the serving order of cold dishes, steamed dishes, stir-fries, braises, stews and soup. https://dfzb.abazhou.gov.cn/abzdfsbgs/c104049/201308/e7ab6e8e28a04dc9836c6b82d420b5c9.shtml 中文百科全書：九斗碗（又称坝坝宴、九大碗） — Menu source 2. It records jiudouwan as a Sichuan feast whose “dou” means a large vessel in Sichuan speech, with nine bowls as a minimum and versions of seven or eleven; its contents as home-style dishes made from whatever chicken, duck, fish, pork, eggs and seasonal vegetables the household has, listing steamed pork elbow, soy-braised pork elbow and steamed duck strips with rice flour as representative dishes, served in farmyards on improvised stoves. https://newton.com.tw/wiki/%E4%B9%9D%E6%96%97%E7%A2%97/2750801 FDA: Food Allergies — Basis for declaring soy, wheat and sesame allergens. https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/food-allergies AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.

Ingredients

  • whole bone-in pork hock, about 1.2 kg1200 g
  • dark soy sauce, for colouring30 ml
  • light soy sauce40 ml
  • honey for colouring, optional20 g
  • star anise2 piece
  • scallion whites, in lengths40 g
  • sliced fresh ginger15 g
  • second stock (unsalted pork bone broth, or water)500 ml
  • salt10 g
  • cooking wine20 ml
  • soaked wood ear, sliced30 g
  • soaked yulan bamboo slices30 g
  • wet starch, for the glaze15 g
  • rapeseed oil, for searing20 ml

Directions

  1. 1

    Scrape the hock clean, blanch it in cold water with wine and ginger for 3 minutes, then rinse under cold water and drain, getting the surface properly dry.

  2. 2

    While still hot, rub dark soy evenly over the skin (a thin coat of honey first gives a brighter, more even colour), then leave 10 minutes for the surface to dry off.

  3. 3

    Put a little rapeseed oil in a flat pan, lay the hock skin-side down and sear over medium-low heat for 6–10 minutes, until the skin blisters and turns deep red; lift it out. **A disclosed downgrade of the entry's wide-wok fry**: deep frying over a naked flame is risky at home, so this uses a little oil and the pan, prioritising safety. The colour is close but not identical.

  4. 4

    Shave the hock into a round to fit the steaming bowl (boned or not; a whole bone-in hock presents better), and score the lean side several times down to the skin layer, deep but not through. Prioritise safe knife work.

  5. 5

    Lay the hock skin-down in the steaming bowl and top with scallion whites, ginger and star anise. In a second pan bring the stock to the boil with light soy, salt and wine, taste, and pour it into the bowl with the hock.

  6. 6

    Steam over high heat for 150–180 minutes, until a skewer slides in with no resistance, the meat comes off the bone and fat has risen thickly on the surface. Short of that the meat is not tender and will not release the bone; overcooked the lean falls apart and cannot be lifted out.

  7. 7

    Lift out the hock and pick off the scallion, ginger and star anise. Take two ladles of the cooking liquor into a pan, add the wood ear, yulan slices, salt and MSG, bring to the boil and thicken with a flowing starch slurry — a thin glaze that clings to the ladle, not a heavy one.

  8. 8

    Invert the hock onto a soup platter and pour the glaze over it with the wood ear and yulan slices; serve hot.

Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.